Abstract
The study focuses on the donations that Eliška Premyslovna made to church institutions. In the introductory part, contemporary research on pious endowments is presented, the possibilities of their interpretation are presented and, above all, the function they had in Czech medieval society.
Gifts offered opportunities for the manifestation of piety, the presentation of status and the manifestation of social role. Through gifts, donors gained access to liturgical memoriam.
The example of Queen Eliška Premyslovna can aptly illustrate the range of different motivations and uses of pious gifts in medieval society. An invaluable advantage of pious gifts is the possibility of serial examination.
In assessing common features, individual motives emerge that would often disappear if considered separately. Pious gifts thus provide an opportunity to better understand the personality of medieval donors and to understand their short- and long-term motivations.
In the case of Eliška Premyslovna, the analysis has revealed particularly socially and politically motivated gifts in the period before 1319, aimed at strengthening the legitimacy and position of the queen. The gifts made after 1322, on the other hand, show the significant role of personal piety and the care for the posthumous memory of the members of the Přemyslid dynasty associated with the support of the monastery at Zbraslav.
Some of the foundations associated with the person of Eliška Přemyslovna and the circumstances of her last gifts, which de facto represent her legacy, are described in more detail.